The UK Government must ensure that victims of abuse perpetrated overseas are able to access justice in the UK

2013-12-11T11:39:00+00:00

The following letter was published in the Times on 2 December 2013.

THE TIMES

Letters to the Editor

Published at 12:01AM, December 2 2013

The UK Government must ensure that victims of abuse perpetrated overseas are able to access justice in the UK

Sir, As delegates gather in Geneva for the Second Annual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, we urge the UK Government to live up to its commitment to ensure that victims of corporate human rights abuses perpetrated overseas are able to access justice in the UK courts.

Despite widespread allegations of corporate misconduct, it remains extremely difficult for court cases against multinationals to proceed in many of the countries where the alleged abuses occurred. It is therefore essential that such cases can be brought in the home states of the companies concerned. In 2011, governments unanimously agreed to address this problem when they endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which recognise the state duty to provide access to remedy in cases of corporate human rights abuse.

As home to some of the world’s largest multinationals, the UK ought to have led the way in delivering on this obligation. Instead, the Government went ahead with changes to the court costs regime, which means it is now far more difficult to bring such cases in this country. In its Business and Human Rights Action Plan, released in September, the FCO made a commitment “to keep the UK provision of remedy under review”.

Writing in the Times today, Nick Fluck, President of the Law Society is joined by Sir Nicolas Bratza (former President of the ECtHR), calling on us to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights which will be tomorrow.

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